Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Craigslist, jobs scams, and don't shoot the messenger

If you haven't used it, Craigslist is a classified service, geographic specific, that you can use to look for an apartment, appliances, and yes, a job. Though Craigslist has taking a beating lately over the erotic service ads that appear on the site, Craigslist can be a great resource for a variety of microjobs.

Craigslist has also, in my opinion, been unfairly criticized for allowing scammers to post ads, including job ads. Scams occurred in newspaper advertising, could appear on bulletin boards at grocery stores and on television (yes, you can make millions on real estate--not). And if you don't want to get naked for money, don't get naked for money.

Instead of shooting the messenger, learn about the hallmarks of a scam or a waste of time job. WebWorkerDaily has an article on 4 Online Freelancing Jobs you Should Approach with Caution; you can find out about job scams in the US on the FTC website, or you can get information from your local consumer protection agency. In Canada, the Canadian Consumer Information Gateway has information; the Competition Bureau (not the easiest site to navigate) posts information about job scams that they have investigated, and the RCMP has a short list of Frauds and Scams.

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